Jan Frodeno was victorious at the Professional Triathletes Organisation US Open in Milwaukee over the weekend, his penultimate race before impending retirement at the end of the year. He was a wild card entry to the event after an injury-plagued 2022 saw his PTO ranking plummet to #245, but the three-time Ironman world champion and Olympic gold medalist beat a hard-charging Jason West and the reigning #1 Kristian Blummenfelt across the finish line after a 2-kilometre swim, 80-kilometre bike and 18-kilometre run to earn the title as well as USD $100,000 in prize money.
Frodeno emerged from the swim in 8th place and stayed at the pointy end during the bike reeling in any surges challengers put on. Off the bike, he quickly assumed the lead with his signature dominant run and stopped the clock in 3:14:11.
“The days that you can choose your tempo and that you feel really good – they are few and far between. I was thinking back to a year ago and I was in hospital and I’d had my first surgery and to come back here and race the best of the best is just a privilege,” he said post-race. “When opportunity is rare, you realise you’ve only got a few shots so you better make use of the bullets left in the tank.”
Bahrain Victorious 13 teammates Holly Lawrence and Kat Matthews faced off against a deep women’s field. With the prize purse paying down to 30th place, the athletes raced pedal-to-the-metal for every spot: Lawrence sprinted into 5th place to take home USD $10,000, while Matthews crossed the finish a close 17 seconds later for 7th and USD $8,500.
Across the globe in Europe, Amelia Watkinson finished 5th at the Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Tallin, Estonia.
The next two weeks are critical for Paris 2024 qualifying: Lauren Parker kicks off her campaign to qualify in paracycling, racing the time trial and road race events wearing the Australian green and gold at the Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.
The following weekend Parker lines up for the Paris paratriathlon test event. Joining teammates Cassandre Beaugrand, Vincent Luis, Henri Schoeman, and Hayden Wilde lining up for the individual and mixed relay at the Olympic test events in Paris.
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